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. Contradicting public statements, Trump took secret flight from Turkey amid Iranian threat (WaPo)
“An Iranian assassination threat against President Donald Trump prompted an extraordinary operation last month in which he flew secretly from Turkey on an alternate military aircraft while the White House said he was aboard Air Force One, The Washington Post has learned.
“The clandestine mission, which has not been reported previously, was carried out unbeknownst to journalists and some White House staff members who believed they were on the same plane as the president, according to material reviewed by The Post, a U.S. official familiar with the operation and another person with knowledge of the president’s travel. These people spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk about the matter.
“In Ankara, Trump boarded the old Air Force One jumbo jet in view of television cameras. He was secretly shuttled minutes later to a smaller plane — an Air Force C-32A — via an airport catering truck typically used to load meals and other supplies preflight, according to the U.S. official and corroborating material reviewed by The Post. That made Air Force One a “decoy” with media and some White House staff aboard, the official said.”
Before Iran and Pres. Trump, there was New York and Pres. Washington. In the summer of 1776, a Loyalist movement involving Thomas Hickey, a member of General George Washington’s elite guard, attempted to kidnap the general. Arrested for passing counterfeit money, Hickey revealed while imprisoned that he and other guards were involved in a Loyalist scheme backed by New York Governor William Tryon and Mayor David Mathews to foil the Patriot cause. Authorities deliberately kept the full threat quiet to prevent widespread panic just before the British fleet invaded New York.
Fast forward more than 200 years and then there was Pres. Clinton. During Bill Clinton's March 2000 trip to Pakistan, Susan Page, then the White House Correspondents’ Association president, was told that due to security concerns Pres. Clinton would be traveling on an alternative jet. When the decoy jet, with all the markings of Air Force One, touched down in view of the media, a Secret Service agent resembling the president emerged. Then, an unmarked plane landed, and the real president disembarked.
Evasions for safety are as old as the biblical narrative. Facing an intimidating Philistine army and unable to get an answer from God, King Saul disguised himself to sneak past enemy lines to consult a medium. Fleeing from King Saul, David took refuge with Achish and feigned insanity to avoid detection. And then there is Ahab, who disguised himself as a common soldier to avoid a prophetic vision of his death. Ironically, one of the oldest tricks for those in power is to pretend to have no power. (1 Sam. 28, 21, 1 Kings 22)
5. Former US Marine Robert Gilman released after years of detention in Russia (ABC News)
“Robert Gilman, a U.S. citizen and former Marine, has been freed from years of detention in Russia on humanitarian grounds, a State Department spokesperson confirmed Tuesday. "Thanks to the hard work of President Trump and Special Envoy Witkoff, Mr. Gilman joins over 100 Americans whom the United States has freed during President Trump's second term in office. This Administration will continue to work for the release of all Americans unjustly detained in Russia, including wrongful detainee Stephen Hubbard," the spokesperson said.
“Gilman, now 32 years old, had been detained since 2022. Later that year, he was sentenced to four and a half years in a prison colony after being accused of fighting with a Russian police officer at a train station. Gilman's family deny the charges and have accused the Russian authorities of wrongfully detaining him for political purposes because he is American.
“According to the "Free Robert Gilman" website, Gilman served in the U.S. Marine Corps and also founded "Robert Gilman Just English" to help students in Poland build their English skills. Gilman was in Moldova to teach and was visiting family outside of Moscow when he fell ill and was then accused of kicking a police officer.”
Breaking records and chains… As of late 2025, it is estimated that at least 40 Americans remain wrongfully detained or held hostage by foreign governments and non-state actors in 14 different countries. There has been a significant decrease in the number of Americans held unjustly abroad over the last 2 years, including a record-breaking 101 releases secured within a single year by the US government.
The vast majority of arrests and detainments of Americans abroad are for legal and legitimate reasons (98 percent), but there are 4 categories of illegitimate reasons: hostage taking (unlawful abduction to compel action as a condition for release), possible wrongful detention (unclear circumstances and limited information), probable wrongful detention (account for 0.7 percent of American detained), and wrongful detention (designated so by the secretary of state).
Like Joseph in an Egyptian prison, Mr. Gilman was being unjustly held. But consider how Genesis 39:21 describes Joseph’s situation: “But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.” Robert Gilman lacked so much during this season of detainment, but he did not lack the presence of God.
4. Colombia earthquake: At least 224 dead, people trapped in collapsed buildings, officials say (ABC News)
“At least 224 people are dead after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake rocked western Colombia on Monday, Colombia’s Public Ministry said. The country's new president, Abelardo de la Espriella, has declared a national disaster, with destruction reported in multiple cities. The earthquake's epicenter was 5 kilometers, or about 3 miles, east of San José del Palmar, Colombia, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
“Preliminary reports indicate that at least 239 people are believed to be trapped in rubble and 949 people injured in the city, according to Eder. Additionally, 93 structures have been damaged and another 45 have partially or wholly collapsed, he said. "Today more than ever, we need to be united and help each other," Eder said in the post… The U.S. State Department said Tuesday that a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) was scheduled to arrive in Colombia that day "to support the government's critical operations, programming, and overall response coordination." The State Department announced Monday that the Trump administration "is committing $15.5 million in funding" for the Colombia earthquake response that will go toward "emergency shelter, food, protection, and earthquake assessments."
Have you heard of the golden period? This refers to the 1 to 3-day window after a natural disaster in which there is a greater likelihood of rescuing victims. Researchers have found that the maximum time, on average, for finding survivors after a quake is 6.8 days. They point to the Rule of 4s: you can go 4 minutes without air, 4 days without water, and 4 weeks without food.
These workers aren’t optimistic; they are hopeful. Optimism is the belief that one’s circumstances will get better; hope is the belief that an individual can make things better. Research has found that hope has the capacity to impact present work and future outcomes. These emergency workers aren’t just thinking that things will get better; they are working to make things better.
The golden period may be coming to an end, but God isn’t stopping his miraculous works. Join us this morning in praying for more to be rescued and all to be comforted amidst the loss. As Francis Chang put it: “When you pray, your prayers are heard by the same God who answered Moses’ prayers for water in the desert, the God who gave Abraham and his barren wife a son, and the God who made the slave Joseph second in power only to Pharaoh.” (1 Jn. 5:14-15)
Cultural News
3. A Southern state just took the top spot in one of the world’s fastest-growing industries (Fox News)
“Dallas ranked No. 1 in the 2026 Global Data Center Market Comparison by Cushman & Wakefield, a global commercial real estate services firm. The Lone Star State made a strong showing across the board, with Austin-San Antonio and West Texas also ranking first in their respective categories.
“The rankings underscore how quickly Texas has become a major destination for data center development as companies search for the land and electricity needed to support artificial intelligence and other computing. Cushman & Wakefield said the state is growing at a pace that could eventually match, or surpass, Virginia, the world’s largest data center market by operating capacity.
“Dallas isn't the world's largest data center market. Despite Dallas’ No. 1 ranking, Virginia remains the world’s largest data center market based on the amount of capacity already in operation. Cushman & Wakefield’s ranking, however, looks beyond sheer size to where the industry is positioned to grow.”
George Thorogood may be Bad to the Bone, but are data centers? Public sentiment has turned against them, but is there any legitimacy to the claims being made? Consider electricity rates and water consumption.
Some argue that data centers raise your electric bill. However, a 2026 study by the Electric Power Research Institute found that data centers modestly lowered average US retail rates. Researchers, when controlling for various variables, found that data centers actually caused average US retail electricity rates to “fall modestly” between 2015 and 2024, largely because their high, steady power demand helped spread a grid’s fixed costs over more usage.
But how much power do they actually use? In 2023, US data centers consumed about 183 billion kilowatt-hours, roughly 4 percent of national electricity consumption. But consider air conditioning here in the US, which consumes about 425 billion kilowatt-hours a year, accounting for some 10 percent of all electricity consumption.
Will the Water Run Dry (shoutout Boyz II Men) because of data centers? In 2023, data centers here in the US consumed about 17 billion gallons of water for cooling. But consider American lawns. Every day, residential landscape irrigation runs to about 9 billion gallons.
Finally, there are emissions. In 2023, data centers accounted for roughly 105 million tons of carbon dioxide, accounting for roughly 2.2 percent of national emissions. For comparison, U.S. agriculture emits around 660 million tons of greenhouse gases a year.
Be a Berean. In Acts 17, the Bereans are compared to those in Thessalonica. The Bereans didn’t jump to conclusions; they searched for them. New information wasn’t rationalized away; it was considered afresh. They discerned the truth instead of spreading mistruths. In this instance, some may be worried about data centers, and while they may be a noisy neighbor, that doesn’t mean you should bear false witness against them.
News You Can Use
2. A Wedding in a Galaxy Far, Far Away...
Watch it here. “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.” (1 Cor. 2:9)
1. 9-year-old bowler from Maywood beats adults in Northwest Indiana tournament
Watch it here. ““Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.” (1 Pet. 4:10)
