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. Energy Secretary Wright says war with Iran ‘will certainly’ end in next few weeks (ABC News)
“Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Sunday that the war with Iran will come to an end in the next few weeks, and possibly sooner, amid concerns about high gas prices. "I think that this conflict will certainly come to an end in the next few weeks," Wright told ABC News' "This Week" co-anchor Martha Raddatz. "Could be sooner than that, but the conflict will come to the end in the next few weeks."
“Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was expanding its strikes targeting Iran’s infrastructure after completing a wave of strikes on several Iranian regime headquarters. Earlier Sunday, the Israeli Air Force completed a wave of strikes targeting Iran’s infrastructure around Hamedan in western Iran, the IDF said, noting several “key” headquarters belonging to the IRGC and the Basij Forces were struck. The IDF said these headquarters were where the Iranian regime managed and advanced attacks against Israel and other countries across the Middle East.”
War is the harshest evaluator of military technology, according to John Spencer. Chair of War Studies at the Madison Policy Forum, Spencer writes how wars “do more than determine political outcomes or redraw borders. They also test weapons. Every conflict becomes a brutal proving ground where military technology is exposed to the unforgiving reality of combat. Systems that appear formidable in parades or defense exhibitions must ultimately survive the trial of war.”
The battlefield is the ultimate arms exhibition, Spencer writes. And in this exhibition, American and Israeli forces are prevailing. For decades, Iran has leaned on Russian and Chinese war technology… to their detriment. “Modern warfare is no longer defined by individual weapons platforms alone. It is defined by networks. Western militaries have spent decades investing in systems that integrate satellites, aircraft, drones, sensors, cyber capabilities, and precision munitions into a unified battlefield architecture. This allows forces to detect targets faster, share information instantly, and strike with extraordinary precision.” He concludes: “Russia and China have attempted to replicate elements of this model, but the battlefield evidence suggests their systems remain less integrated and more vulnerable to disruption.”
No weapon formed against me shall prosper... In Isaiah 54, the prophet is speaking to the Israelites who are in exile in Babylon. When he utters this famous promise, he is not just sharing a general "good luck" charm; it is a declaration that because God has established a covenant with his people, their ultimate destiny is secure regardless of the geopolitical powers (like Babylon or Assyria) attempting to destroy them. In this instance, I am encouraged by our prowess; I am comforted by Isaiah’s promise.
5. Trump-Vance DOJ Sides With Abortion Industry on Mail-Order Drugs Twice in a Week (CP)
“The U.S. Department of Justice has asked a federal court to dismiss a case challenging the Food and Drug Administration's loosened regulations for the abortion pill mifepristone that allow the drug to be distributed by mail, drawing criticism from a leading pro-life advocate. The Justice Department filed a motion to dismiss a federal lawsuit filed by Missouri, Idaho, and Kansas against the FDA and abortion pill manufacturer Danco Laboratories on Friday over the loosening of requirements for obtaining mifepristone, the first drug in the abortion pill regimen. The ability of women to obtain the abortion pill without visiting a doctor in person is at the center of litigation involving the abortion pill.
“Government lawyers maintained that the lawsuit threatened to “short-circuit” the FDA’s ongoing risk evaluation and mitigation strategies review for the abortion drug and insisted that the states did not have standing to bring the lawsuit. Friday’s filing comes less than two months after the DOJ had previously asked a federal court to dismiss a similar lawsuit in Louisiana. Pro-life activists called the filing disappointing behavior by the Trump administration, which they have also accused of slow-walking the FDA abortion pill review to complete after the midterm elections.”
All By Myself – Celine Dion and pro-life evangelicals. A new survey found that the number of regular churchgoers identifying as pro-life dropped from 63 percent in 2023 to 43 percent in 2025. The same study found that 20 percent of regular churchgoers had “paid for, encouraged, or chosen to have an abortion.”
Contrary to popular belief, just because something is popular doesn’t mean it’s right or true. Known as the bandwagon fallacy, this line of thinking appeals to the masses in order to claim something is good or right. It doesn’t matter if the claim is actually true, all that matters is that the masses are on one’s side…
Is the Trump administration following the trend or setting it? Earlier in January, Mr. Trump reportedly told Republican lawmakers they’d need to “be a little flexible” on the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits taxpayer money from funding abortions.
Be Paul instead of Peter. Peter was swayed by the Galatian crowd but Paul was content being isolated from the crowd, spending his last days writing to his friends in the bottom of a dank prison. Approval from a crowd is a fading reward; obedience to the King is an eternal treasure. Carl Trueman is right: “Does the faith exist merely to support what your party already believes? Or does it call them to oppose any threat to what it means to be human, no matter where it comes from? A faith that is captive to either political party will eventually seem superfluous.” (Gal. 2, 2 Tim. 4)
4. Judge blocks subpoenas against Fed Chair Jerome Powell, citing 'essentially zero evidence' (NBC News)
“A federal judge on Friday said he was blocking subpoenas that the Justice Department served to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in a probe purported to be about the management of the central bank's renovation. "A mountain of evidence suggests that the Government served these subpoenas on the Board to pressure its Chair into voting for lower interest rates or resigning," Judge James Boasberg, the chief judge on the U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C., wrote in a court filing.
“Boasberg continued: "On the other side of the scale, the Government has produced essentially zero evidence to suspect Chair Powell of a crime; indeed, its justifications are so thin and unsubstantiated that the Court can only conclude that they are pretextual… The Court therefore finds that the subpoenas were issued for an improper purpose and will quash them.”
Under Pressure? Not as much, Queen…This is the latest time, but definitely not the first time, that the chair of the Federal Reserve and the president have not seen eye to eye…
Push – Matchbox Twenty and LBJ. The Fed chair during the LBJ administration, William McChesney Martin Jr., repeatedly raised rates to slow spending because of the “disquieting similarities” between the economy of the 1960s and the Roaring ’20s leading up to the Great Depression. Frustrated, to say the least, Johnson asked Martin to fly down to his ranch so that he could share his concerns, which turned into the president physically shoving Martin around. “My boys are dying in Vietnam, and you won’t print the money I need.”
Then there was Ronald Reagan. Early in his presidency, Reagan requested a meeting at the Fed’s headquarters. However, to avoid any appearance of political influence, Chair Paul Volcker refused and insisted that the gathering take place at the Treasury. When he was strongly pushed (figuratively) by the administration to cut rates, he often cited a quote from Washington: “Do not suffer your good nature, when application is made, to say “yes” when you ought to say “no.” Remember that it is a public not a private cause that is to be injured or benefited by your choice.”
Present your case like the daughters of Zelophehad… When 5 sisters (Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah) lost their dad, they went to Moses to make their appeal. Since only men were counted in the census, Zelophehad’s daughters would have been left without an inheritance. However, Moses recognized their plea and granted them their rightful lot. In this instance, the administration had a chance to present their case like the daughters did, and while they didn’t get the desired result, in the long run, a fair hearing is far better than a predetermined result. (Num. 27)
Cultural News
3. Toxic people in your life may have a hidden health impact, study suggests (Fox News)
“Surrounding yourself with difficult people could shorten your lifespan, according to new research. A study published in the journal PNAS found that negative social ties contribute to a faster aging pace and an older biological age. The researchers, from various U.S.-based universities, studied how "hasslers," or people who often cause problems or social difficulties, impacted aging and mortality, according to a study press release.
“Biological aging refers to the pace of aging on a cellular level, which is often different from chronological age. Based on a sample of more than 2,000 Indiana participants 18 years and older, nearly 30% of individuals reported having a "hassler" in their network. People who were more likely to report hasslers included women, daily smokers, people in worse health and those with adverse childhood experiences.”
Like Taylor Swift, I often ask why some have to be so Mean. Interestingly enough, 2 truths illuminate these hasslers in our lives: we have become too offensive and too thin-skinned. One survey found that nearly 50 percent of Americans believe that people saying things that are “very offensive” to others is a major problem in the country today. Another survey found that 62 percent of Americans believe that another big problem is “people being too easily offended by things others say.”
We get offended by hasslers in 3 stages, according to a classic study: we realize and identify we have been insulted or troubled; we analyze the extent and intensity of the offense; finally, we respond with emotion or in some behavioral way.
Beware of the miserable comforters. When Job endured great tragedy and loss, his friends were called miserable comforters because of their attempts to explain his present predicament. Instead of comforting him, they attempted to shame him and explain his situation to him. This morning, we can all picture one of those hasslers, or miserable comforters, in our lives. But as Ann Voskamp put it: "[God] gave us Jesus... If God didn’t withhold from us His very own Son, will God withhold anything we need? If trust must be earned, hasn’t God unequivocally earned our trust with the bark on the raw wounds, the thorns pressed into the brow, your name on the cracked lips? How will he not also graciously give us all things He deems best and right? He’s already given the incomprehensible.” (Job 16, Rom. 8)
News You Can Use
2. Lord of the Rings and a Pawn Shop…
Watch it here. “The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.” (Lk. 16:8)
1. Disney Cruise Line Released A Commericial Last Night That Should be Illegal…
Watch it here. “One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.” (Ps. 145:4)
