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. Nepal flood death toll surges as 65 Americans listed among over 1,000 people still missing (CBS News)
“Rescue teams were searching for hundreds of missing people along the Nepal-China border on Thursday after a catastrophic, deadly torrent of floods and mud swept through several communities a day earlier following a glacial collapse. The head of Nepal's tourism board told CBS News that 65 U.S. nationals were among those missing in the wake of the disaster.
“The Nepal Police reported at least 360 people dead and more than 1,400 missing in Nepal and Tibet, an autonomous region of China. Local reports cited the National Emergency Operation Center as saying Thursday that the missing included 113 Nepali tourists, 85 security personnel from the army and police, and 161 residents, as authorities ramped up operations in the worst-affected districts of Nuwakot and Rasuwa.”
Is God to blame for this? An illuminating survey found that 56 percent of Americans agree or mostly agree that God is in control of all Earthly events. 44 percent think that natural disasters are or could be a sign from the Almighty. And 29 percent of people felt that God sometimes punishes an entire nation for the sins of a few individuals.
Daniel Defoe, in his classic The Storm, chronicled the devastation from a natural disaster that struck Britain in 1703. In a memorable passage, Defoe observed that the storm and its impact would have forced the most devout atheist “to doubt whether he was not in the wrong.” Some, like Defoe, view natural disasters through a Jonah paradigm, seeing them as God’s judgment of the world. Others view disasters through a Romans paradigm, with disasters being a result of living in a broken world.
Have you been bitten by a Nepalese leech? One of my best friends in seminary was a missionary to Nepal for years. He once shared about hiking the mountainous terrain through the rain to get to a church gathering. Joined by the local pastor, they hiked for hours and waded through multiple rivers, knowing that the leeches would cling to their skin. Despite the dangers from losing blood, this local pastor was dedicated to sharing about the saving blood of Christ – regardless of the leeches and weather. No one can know the mind of God as to why he allowed this, but I know he is at work in this. (Jonah 1, Rom. 8, Phil. 4, 1 Cor. 2:16)
5. Trump signs executive order renaming Lake Ontario to 'Lake America' (ABC News)
“President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order changing the name of Lake Ontario to "Lake America" "effective immediately" amid the ongoing trade war between the United States and Canada. "The lake change -- 'Lake of America' -- was something I've been thinking about for a long time," said Trump, who was flanked by two large boards that depicted the label "Lake America."
“The president can unilaterally change a geographic name for official U.S. federal government use, like his action via executive order in January of 2025 renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America." However, he can't dictate what other countries or international bodies call it... The lake's name change comes amid the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and Canada. Negotiations between the countries broke down over the weekend and a fresh round of 50% U.S. tariffs on some Canadian goods took effect on Saturday, leading Canada to retaliate with a set of its own levies.”
Was this a farsighted decision? In his book Farsighted, Steven Johnson writes how our decision-making techniques haven’t advanced much since the pros and cons list popularized by Ben Franklin in the 1770s. But Johnson highlights 2 distinct phases in making a farsighted decision: divergence and consensus.
In the divergence phase, the “key objective is to get as many perspectives and variables on the table as possible through exploratory exercises designed to reveal new possibilities." In the consensus phase, the group "begins to narrow down its options, seeking agreement on the correct path."
We are tempted to narrowband decisions, failing to address the hidden profiles. Instead of seeing the “full spectrum” of the complexity of a situation, we gravitate toward narrowbanding because it eases the mental strain. Relative to the hidden profiles, this is assuming everyone has all the information necessary to make the decision.
Is this a grain decision or a soup one? Joseph’s grain strategy demonstrated a farsighted decision. After interpreting Pharaoh’s troubling dreams as predicting 7 years of record harvests followed by 7 years of devastating famine, Joseph instituted a national reserve system. Then there are soup decisions. Returning home exhausted and famished from an unsuccessful hunt, Esau smelled the soup his brother Jacob was cooking. Esau allowed his temporary physical hunger to completely overwhelm his judgment. In this instance, I don't know whether this was a soupy, nearsighted decision or a grainy, farsighted one, but I do know that though we make decisions, in the end our decisions make us. (Gen. 25, 41)
4. Callaway severs ties with golf brand after controversial ad sparks outrage (NBC News)
“Fallout from a golf commercial described as “the worst ad known to man” continued Thursday when Callaway, one of the sport’s largest makers of equipment, announced it had cut ties with Good Good Golf, the brand it had partnered with for the past three years before their joint ad sparked controversy. Callaway said it would also commit $1 million to organizations that work to prevent violence against women. “These actions do not undo the harm caused or our role in it,” Callaway said. “We sincerely apologize to everyone who was hurt, disappointed, or offended by this incident.”
“Intended to promote Callaway and Good Good’s collaboration on its Quantum Driver, the commercial instead immediately drew criticism for appearing to promote violence against women. In the commercial, Good Good co-founder Garrett Clark is seen rushing over to his golf bag and pushing over golfer Alexis Miestowski to keep her from grabbing the Quantum Driver.”
What Was I Thinking – Dierk Bentley sings it, and I’m sure Good Good Golf is saying it. 2 concepts come to mind when considering the poor decisions from Good Good Golf: Munger’s Latticework and Nacirema. Relative to Munger, you can’t understand the world by viewing it through a single lens. Gaining a deeper understanding of differing mentalities helps you identify potential blind spots. In this instance, myopically focusing on humor kept them from seeing manners.
Then there is nacirema. This refers to the idea of being overfamiliar with a subject to the extent that you are blind to it. So in this instance, you are familiar with a commercial, but you are also blind to the potential implications of it because of repetition. To better deal with something you are overly familiar with, pretend you are sharing it with the Nacirema, a remote jungle tribe lacking context or detail about the event.
Folly can lead to ruin, but wisdom can lead to flourishing. Like Samson, it can be easy to rely on past success and present strengths to walk carelessly in the moment. Spurgeon was right: “Wisdom is the right of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.” (Pro. 14, 15, 19)
Cultural News
3. New Survey Names A Growing Concern Among Working Women: Men (The Story Exchange)
“For Forbes, psychologist Dr. Janice Gassam Asare asked unmarried women whether they were worried that getting married to a man might hurt their work. Of the 200-some-odd respondents, 33% said they were, indeed, significantly to somewhat concerned about it.
“And those concerns aren’t wholly unfounded. Roughly 455,000 women exited the workforce between January and August 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. When nonprofit firm Catalyst asked over 1,000 women why they left those jobs, 42% of them cited home-based responsibilities like caregiving as the main reason. "
It’s a Man’s World? Not so fast, James Brown… I know. Mr. Brown Feels Good, but a growing number of men don’t. In his 2022 book Of Boys and Men, Richard Reeves addresses how women have successfully adapted to and built a "new world" of post-industrial economic and social norms, while this new paradigm has left men struggling.
Consider work, or more specifically, the prop problem. The modern economy has largely shifted from physical labor to cognitive and social-emotional skills. Women entered the workforce in record numbers, reshaping societal dynamics. "The economic reliance of women on men held women down, but it also propped men up. Now the props have gone, and many men are falling."
Then there is the home. Women paved the way toward financial independence, meaning marriage is no longer an economic imperative for women. There used to be a day when a man’s primary familial contribution was financial support. Today, that load is shared. "Women have expanded their role, and the range of options open to them. Men have not... We must help men adapt to the dramatic changes of recent decades without asking them to stop being men."
As David demonstrated with Michal, there is nothing wrong with performing phenomenal feats for great loves. However, these actions were part of his larger identity: a man after God’s own heart. He didn’t forsake pursuing after God’s heart to capture her heart, but rather he did both. Today, a lot has changed for men but one thing hasn’t: the command to love your wife like Christ loved the church. The tasks look different for today’s man, but the principle remains the same: grateful sacrifice. (1 Cor. 16, 1 Sam. 18, Eph. 5)
News You Can Use
1. 23-year-old pilot pulls off crash landing near busy Florida beach
Watch it here. “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (2 Tim. 1:7)
1. Kids are throwing their parents 'empty nester' parties before going away to college
Watch it here. “Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed." (Rom. 13:7)
