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. Inflation hits highest level in nearly 3 years, Fed's preferred gauge shows (ABC News)
“Inflation jumped for a second consecutive month in April as the Iran war drove up gasoline prices and strained household budgets, government data on Thursday showed. Prices rose 3.8% in April compared to a year earlier, according to the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Index, an inflation gauge preferred by the Federal Reserve. The PCE stood at 2.8% as recently as February.
“Inflation now stands at its highest level since May 2023, the Commerce Department report showed. The savings rate, meanwhile, fell to 2.6%, its lowest level since 2022, suggesting some strapped consumers are struggling to stash away extra funds. A persistent increase in consumer prices may put pressure on the Fed to raise interest rates as a means of dialing back inflation. The latest reading comes days after Fed Chair Kevin Warsh began a four-year term atop the central bank.”
The vibecession has given way to the permacession, according to Annie Lowery. Highlighting the fact that consumer sentiment has dropped to its lowest point since 1952, Lowery notes: “People have stopped believing that the economy can be good, and have lost the willingness to admit that they are doing well. That pessimism might be harder to fix than an actual downturn."
Is anything going right? Lowery notes: “Americans seem to be mad about everything, or in spite of everything. Rates of teen pregnancy, domestic abuse, vehicle crashes, and violent crime have plummeted. Nobody cares. Scientists have saved babies, extended lifetimes, and cured cancers. Nobody cares. Researchers came up with a drug that takes the struggle out of dieting. Nobody cares… The unemployment rate goes down. Nobody cares… Or rather, everybody cares. And they’re cynical and furious.”
Do what I say, not what I have done… In the early part of his life, Peter was defined by impulsivity. Yet in his latter years, he shared about the importance of staying sober-minded. He emphasized the value in exercising self-control over being controlled by forces outside of one's ability. In this moment, while we cannot control inflation, we do have a say over how we respond to it. While there is plenty of blame to go around regarding the source of this inflationary moment, there are still many more important things to do in these precious moments. Tim Keller put it well: “Self-control is the ability to do the important thing rather than the urgent thing.” (1 Pet. 4-5)
5. U.S. and Iran trade strikes as Trump says he feels no pressure for peace deal (WaPo)
“The United States and Iran attacked each other’s military facilities overnight in tit-for-tat strikes that tested the countries’ fragile truce and their ongoing negotiations over a broader peace deal. U.S. forces initially struck an Iranian launch site in Bandar Abbas on the Strait of Hormuz after shooting down five Iranian one-way attack drones, according to U.S. Central Command, which oversees operations in the region. U.S. military officials said that the drones posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz and that Iran had been ready to launch a sixth.
“Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Thursday morning that it retaliated by firing at a U.S. air base in Kuwait, where it said the attack on Bandar Abbas had originated. It was not immediately clear which U.S. base was targeted in Kuwait, which hosts a significant U.S. military presence. But Central Command said Thursday that Kuwaiti forces successfully intercepted an Iranian ballistic missile and condemned the action by Tehran."
War, What Is It Good For? In her book War: How Conflict Shaped Us, Margaret MacMillan highlights how we make war, but war makes us, spurring innovations and modifications within society, medicine, business, etc. “In understanding war we understand something about being human, our ability to organize ourselves, our emotions and our ideas, and our capacity for cruelty as well as for good.”
There are 2 paradoxes within war: communities are both the source of wars and the animators of peace. First, we become good at war when we organize into societies. “War – organized, purposeful violence between two political units – became more elaborate when we developed organized sedentary societies.” However, the organization into units can also turn us into instruments for peace, drawing on the wisdom of the whole to address the conflict concerning a few matters.
War changes us, just consider Naaman. He was a highly regarded commander of the Aramean army. During their raids of Israel, his soldiers captured a young Israelite girl who became a servant to his wife. After a time, Naaman contracted leprosy. Desperate for healing, this young captive—a casualty of his own military campaigns—offered him a lifeline by pointing him to the prophet Elisha. He journeyed to Israel not as a conquering leader but as a sick man with shattered pride. After dipping in the Jordan River and being healed, the war leader renounced his old gods, declaring that there was no God in all the world except in Israel. In this moment, little has changed in the status of the war with Iran, but we can rest assured that God is changing and transforming souls both inside and outside Iran. (2 Kings 5).
4. Bari Weiss begins overhaul at CBS’s ‘60 Minutes’ with several firings (WaPo)
“In a bid to remake the country’s top-rated news program, Bari Weiss, the editor in chief of CBS News, on Thursday unveiled an overhaul of “60 Minutes,” replacing the show’s executive producer with a tech journalist and firing two of its on-air correspondents. Ms. Weiss named Nick Bilton, a former New York Times technology columnist and a filmmaker who has directed and produced documentaries for HBO and Netflix, as her pick to lead the 58-year-old Sunday show. Mr. Bilton, who has never worked in traditional broadcast news, will replace Tanya Simon, who had been at the show for more than three decades.
“CBS News also fired Cecilia Vega, the program’s first Latina correspondent, and Sharyn Alfonsi, whose segment on torture in Salvadoran prisons was pulled off the air abruptly last year by Ms. Weiss, who requested more reporting. It aired in full at a later date. Draggan Mihailovich, the executive editor of “60 Minutes,” was also fired, as was Matthew Polevoy, a senior producer. Ms. Weiss, an opinion journalist with no prior experience in television, has made major changes at CBS since being appointed last year by the tech scion David Ellison.”
Shake It Off? More like shake it up, Taylor. Interestingly enough, a recent Bain study of reorganizations found that fewer than one-third produced any meaningful improvement in performance. There was little effect, and some even destroyed value.
Have you heard of a decision audit? A HBR study found that a team’s value is ultimately in the decisions it makes and executes on. A decision audit identifies the “set of decisions that are critical to the success of your company’s strategy and to determine the organizational level at which those decisions should be made and executed to create the most value.” Rather than focusing on structure, a reorganization should give attention to decisions and the people who make them.
Paging Jethro and Jehoiada. Both of these men oversaw reforms, with the former spurring Moses to consider how he makes decisions and the latter responding to a reorganization request of the king. When Moses was overwhelmed with rendering decisions, his father-in-law suggested he delegate the work. His work was important, but it didn’t have to be solely his work. And when King Joash assumed the throne, the temple was in great need of repair. Jehoiada the priest made Joash’s vision a reality by inspiring the Levites and the rest of the nation, compelling them to “cheerfully give” until the collection plates were full. Change is an inevitable part of life, but Peter Drucker rightly noted: "The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence – it is to act with yesterday's logic." (2 Chron. 24, Ex. 18)
Cultural News
3. With Subscription Fatigue Setting In, Companies Need to Think Hard About Fees (HBS)
“From software that once came in a box to phone apps that do simple tasks, more products and services are moving to a subscription model—and consumers are feeling it. The average US consumer last year spent $273 a month on 12 paid subscriptions. People were already used to paying for streaming content, cell phone service, and meal delivery, but now there are subscriptions for toothbrushes, razors, pet food, and apparel.
“With its attractive recurring revenues for companies, the subscription model has grown so popular that nearly 75 percent of companies that sell directly to customers have some sort of subscription offering, according to a new industry and background note coauthored by Harvard Business School Professor Elie Ofek. And they’re expected to multiply in the years ahead, with subscription billings by companies likely to grow anywhere from 50 to 100 percent over the next five years, according to some estimates.
“However, subscriptions have become so widespread that many consumers are starting to feel overwhelmed with what some are calling “subscriptionitis.” And customers have made it clear that subscriptions aren’t appropriate for all products and services.”
Help – The Beatles sing it, and 33 percent of American consumers say it concerning technology. One-third of consumers report feeling overwhelmed by the number of devices and subscriptions they need to manage. Do you have doom piles? Just as you may have junk drawers in your house, doom piles are digital clutter folders, inducing anxiety and stress. Some have doom piles because they have become cloud complacent, which delays the urgency to purge even as discomfort grows. So instead of cleaning up, you expand out.
A growing number of Americans are suffering from lifestyle creep. Nearly one in four Americans reported spending more than they earned. This is fascinating, considering that even when adjusting the numbers to account for inflation, over the past 60 years, there have been more American homes earning over $150,000 and fewer American homes earning less than $50,000. One study found that total debt, using 2010 dollars, has increased from around $1,186 per person in 1948 to $10,168 in 2010. This doesn't include real estate debt either.
Be like Joseph… Whether he was in prison or in the palace, Joseph was a good steward of the gifts he had been given. When he lacked freedom, he used his gifts to bless his fellow prisoners. Rising to leadership, he strategically deployed his managerial skills to lead a nation through famine. Joseph understood stewardship was more than sharing the money in your pocket, but faithfully exercising the resources at your disposal. (Gen. 39-41)
News You Can Use
2. A one-armed woman has gone mega-viral after she quickly refuted a cop’s claim that she was driving with a phone in her “right hand.”
Watch it here. “A faithful witness does not lie, but a false witness breathes out lies.” (Pro. 14:5)
1. Electric Tools vs Gas Tools
Watch it here. “But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor.” (Gal. 6:4)
