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 Suggests His Super PAC Plans to Spend at Least $400 Million by Election Day (NY Times)
“President Trump said he has spent more than $300 million so far on the midterm elections and planned to spend $100 million more by Election Day, as the flood of money for the sprint to Nov. 3 begins to come into focus. The president’s announcement, which most likely referred to his MAGA Inc. super PAC, came on the day of a key campaign finance filing deadline. Hours earlier, representatives of Michael R. Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York, said he was giving roughly $80 million to help Democrats.
“Elon Musk has poured more than $276 million into Republican groups since July, making him the biggest known donor of the 2026 midterm election. Musk gave $158 million to the Senate Leadership Fund and more than $76 million to America PAC, in newly disclosed spending, bringing his known federal political giving this cycle to roughly $366 million. His 2025-26 giving has already surpassed the roughly $290 million he spent during the 2024 election, despite saying last year he planned to spend “a lot less” on politics.”
Does money make a difference in politics? A fascinating study found that while there is an overall positive relationship between campaign expenditures, contributions, and a candidate's probability of winning, it reveals that money doesn't talk equally for everyone. Incumbents face severe diminishing returns on their spending. Significant financial backing does little to boost their already-established name recognition. But challengers reap massive, high-impact rewards from every dollar spent.
Beware of the Darth Vader effect. Contrary to popular belief, all politics is no longer local. In this nationalized environment, small donors are playing a larger role. The Darth Vader effect refers to how candidates highlight political enemies/challengers (Pelosi, Trump, Paxton, AOC, etc.) in an effort to raise funds for races that there is little chance of actually winning. Campaigns will crowdsource huge amounts of money, from outside of their districts, even when their odds of winning are slim, to say the least.
Money does make a difference, and so does your faithfulness. Over the next 13 days, we will continue to be inundated with messages that attempt to elevate the significance of this particular election and the alleged unfitness of the other side. This kind of rhetoric often reveals a misordering of loves, idolizing politics to an unhealthy place. While elections are important, they aren’t ultimate. Voting is a good way, but not the only way, to love your neighbor. This may be a big race, but our King has already won. (Mt. 22)
5. Dem candidate's mother urges voters to reject her: 'Don't let her become your governor' (Fox News)
“Democratic Ohio gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton's mother urged voters not to cast their ballot for her daughter, calling her a liar. “I love my daughter. But when I saw her lying about her opponent — it's not easy for a mother to say this — but Amy has a serious problem. She is a liar. She lies about her past. She says she grew up living in a tent. None of that is true. She's lied her entire life," Donna Arthur says in a video.
“In 2019, Dr. Acton disclosed being sexually abused between the ages of 9 and 12. In a statement from her campaign, Acton’s brother Philip Stearns said the ad — a copy of which was obtained by the Ohio political blog The Rooster and circulated widely on social media — was weaponizing his sister’s alleged childhood abuse and sexual assault for political gain. "After he was arrested and Amy and I were removed from their custody, our birth mother stayed married to Amy's rapist until he died.”
Sadly, this ugly ad illuminates a larger trend: family estrangement. A recent poll found that 38 percent of US adults were estranged from at least one close family member. Relative to parents estranged from their children, 30 percent said they would not consider reconciling.
Before Amy, there was Ben Franklin. Following in his father’s footsteps, William learned the printing trade before becoming the royal governor of New Jersey. But as the American Revolution heated up, relations between father and son grew cold. William sided with the Loyalists, telling his father that if he were aiming to set the colonies on fire, “he would take care to run away by the light of it.” Over time, William wound up in solitary confinement due to informing the British of revolutionary activities. Years later, before his death, Benjamin wrote to William: “Nothing has ever hurt me so much and affected me with such keen Sensations as to find myself deserted in my old Age by my only Son.”
We need more Rekabites… The prophet Jeremiah tested the Rekabites by offering them wine, setting bowls and cups full of the fermented grape juice around them. However, they refused, explaining that their ancestor Jonadab commanded them generations ago not to drink it. Even under social and prophetic pressure, they fiercely honored the enduring traditions and instructions of their family patriarch. They honored their family with their faithfulness. This mother used her family for the sake of politics. (Jer. 35)
4. Trump pledges $8 billion in relief for farmers struggling with soaring diesel prices (CBS News)
“President Trump said his administration will provide $8 billion in aid to farmers hurt by record diesel prices. "I'm also pleased to announce that the Department of Agriculture will be launching a new Harvest Fuel Relief program, providing our farmers with $8 billion in support to offset diesel costs during this harvest season," Mr. Trump said at a rally in Kansas. "When Republicans win, we will pass even more funding for our farmers. We love our farmers," he added.
“Earlier this month, Mr. Trump also signed an executive order to ease limits on the tax-free use of red-dyed diesel, a move aimed at lowering costs for farmers and truckers. That came after a $12 billion aid package for farmers announced by the Trump administration in December. Farmers have faced financial pressures from soaring diesel prices, which are used to run agricultural machinery. Diesel reached a record of $6.53 a gallon on Sept. 22, although it's eased slightly since then, with average U.S. prices now at $6.32 a gallon, up from $3.62 a year ago, according to AAA data.”
George Strait isn’t the only one who wants to Give It Away… "The Trump administration provided more taxpayer dollars to farmers financially damaged by the administration's trade policies than the federal government spends each year building ships for the Navy or maintaining America's nuclear arsenal," according to a study. "The amount of money raises questions about the strategy of imposing tariffs and permitting the use of taxpayer money to shield policymakers from the consequences of their actions."
Breaking records because some are going broke? This is a record-setting year for payouts to farmers, totaling $55.4 billion this year. Through the first 9 months of 2025, farm bankruptcies rose by nearly 50 percent compared with the same period in 2024. However, for context, in 2021, the average income of all farm households was $135,281, which was 32 percent higher than the $102,316 average of all US households. USDA data shows that 69 percent of farms with yearly revenues of more than $100,000 receive federal subsidies.
The heaviness of Solomon… Toward the end of his reign, Solomon appointed 12 district governors to supply both provisions and labor. Each district was required to supply food and goods for the king and his household one month out of the year. In addition, they were to provide labor to help the king build the temple and other fortifications. At the end of his life, the people approached Solomon’s son, asking him to be unlike his father, who had laid a “heavy yoke” on his people. At this moment, farmers, like all of us, are experiencing the heaviness of policy decisions that have increased prices. While the government is giving a select few some relief, we all can experience rest outside of the government. (1 Kings 4)
Cultural News
3. Remote work made these colleagues more open with each other, not less (WaPo)
“Meetings that use Zoom and similar software are a fixture of remote work, which surged during the COVID-19 pandemic and remains prevalent. As of August 2026, 36% of American workers in management, professional and related occupations did at least some of their work from home, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Rather than pulling colleagues apart, remote work brought them closer and made them more willing to be open with one another. The findings were peer-reviewed and will be published in an upcoming issue of the management journal Organization Science.
“People became “less afraid to talk about the interface of their personal and professional lives,” Leah said. Before, she added, no one would have volunteered that a breakup was affecting them and that they needed a day off to decompress. After the company went remote, people told me they felt more comfortable sharing their own challenges as they tried to juggle their work and the challenges they faced in their personal lives.”
You Can Talk To Me – Stevie Nicks and remote workers. More than 70 percent of workers had at least one member of their team who was not in the building with them. As a result, roughly half had no fully in-person meetings. Interestingly enough, after about 15 hours a week, the benefits of remote work wane.
While there are benefits (such as cutting out the average 54-minute commute time), there are drawbacks. For example, a study found that pairs who brainstormed in person came up with about 14 percent more ideas than those brainstorming online. In addition, there is a roughly 20 percent increase in the comments people receive on their work. However, even having one distant teammate weakens the connections among those sitting side by side.
Frederick Buechner, in light of the reality that the word became flesh and dwelt among us, noted that the incarnation means that “all ground is holy ground because God not only made it but walked on it, ate and slept and worked and died on it.” He rightly notes: “One of the blunders religious people are particularly fond of making is the attempt to be more spiritual than God.” Whether that ground is in your home or at your office, bloom where you are planted, bearing the fruit of the spirit to a hungry world around you. (Jn. 1)
News You Can Use
2. Couple Carries On Drinking, Smoking As Paris Protests Erupt Around Them
Watch it here. “And I commend joy, for man has nothing better under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun.” (Ecc. 8:15)
1. Idaho deputy rescues juvenile moose tangled in wire in heartwarming video now going viral
Watch it here. “The righteous care for the needs of their animals, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.” (Pro. 12:10)
