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. White House correspondents’ dinner shooting suspect wrote statement denouncing Trump (NY Times)
“President Trump said on Sunday that the gunman who stormed a security perimeter at the White House correspondents’ dinner had written a “manifesto,” as investigators continued to examine his writings and other evidence to piece together the motive for an attack that appeared to be aimed at the president and his top aides… He identified himself in a missive sent to family members moments before the attack as a “friendly federal assassin” and railed against Trump administration policies.
“Mr. Trump did not offer any details about the document he described as a manifesto in an interview with Fox News, but the acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, told NBC that investigators gathering evidence about the suspect “know there were some writings.” He added that a preliminary review of the evidence indicated that members of the administration, “likely including the president,” had been targets.
“The suspect was armed with knives, a shotgun and a handgun, the interim Washington, D.C., police chief, Jeffery W. Carroll, told reporters on Saturday night. Mr. Blanche said the man had purchased the two firearms he was carrying “within the last couple of years,” and had been staying at the Hilton, where Mr. Trump, top administration officials and hundreds of journalists had gathered.”
The late Daniel Patrick Moynihan noted that the defining characteristic of the moment is not that we have become more immoral, but that we have become more accustomed to it. Tragically, events like this weekend aren’t surprising but just utterly saddening…
Mimetic theory explains it. Coined by René Girard, the theory holds that we imitate the desires and actions of others. We want and do something not just because it is desirable, but because other people think it is. However, the pursuit of desires leads to the rise of conflicts. As individuals compete for desires, conflict ensues. There comes a point when blame needs to be laid on someone or something in order to restore peace. Enter the scapegoat mechanism.
You don’t just blame the scapegoat; you end it. In this instance, we can’t just disagree with the other side and have peace; we must end the scapegoat to secure peace. As of late, more and more attention is being given to the far-left activist Hasan Piker, an online streamer who espouses vile views, like justifying/joking about the assassination of the president. These words/actions serve as a permission structure for others to repeat. Or as Girard put it, channeling the woman caught in adultery, the first stone is the hardest to throw, but the second is easier…
Can anything break this cycle? GK Chesterton once replied to a newspaper's question of “What is wrong with the world” with the short response: “Dear Sirs, I am.” Instead of looking for a scapegoat, you become the scapegoat, according to Girard. You don’t assign blame but accept responsibility — less blaming others and more improving yourself. While this may take the appearance of defeat, turning the other cheek, you are pursuing the real and only victory: ending the doom cycle. (Mt. 5:44-46)
5. Iran's foreign minister returns to Pakistan after U.S. envoys' trip canceled (CBS News)
“Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi returned to Islamabad on Sunday, where he is expected to participate in talks focused on ending the war with the U.S., Iranian state media reported. U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had been expected to head to Islamabad Saturday for peace talks, but President Trump said he canceled their trip to Pakistan.
“Mr. Trump said Sunday that any possible Iran talks can take place over the phone. "If they want to talk, they can come to us, or they can call us. You know, there is a telephone," the president told Fox News, adding, "we're not sending people to travel 18 hours to meet."
There are at least 2 broad approaches to peace negotiations: rationalist and idealist. The rationalist approach (often linked to bargaining theory) analyzes peace processes as strategic interactions where actors aim to maximize their utility. With this approach, peace is most likely when all parties realize that continued war is too costly. But critics argue that this approach ignores non-rational factors, such as emotions, historical grievances, and domestic pressures.
Then there is the idealist approach, which is grounded in the belief that conflict is not inevitable and can be overcome through shared values, international law, and institutional frameworks. Peace fails not just because of bad design, but because the underlying values are not reconciled. But critics sometimes view the idealist as unrealistic and less effective at handling existential threats.
There are various paths to peace, shaping and molding us along the way… With Abigail, this path required her to disregard her husband. For Laban, it looked like a pile of rocks. And for the Gibeonites, peace looked like moldy bread and worn-out shoes. They each had different paths, and those journeys shaped them in unique ways – such is life when we are directly confronted with the preciousness of it and the value of peace in it. CS Lewis put it well: “What does war do to death? It certainly does not make it more frequent: 100 percent of us die and the percentage cannot be increased. Yet war does do something to death. It forces us to remember it… All schemes of happiness centered in this world were always doomed to final frustration. In ordinary times only a wise man can realize it. Now the stupidest of us knows.” (1 Sam. 25, Rom. 12, Josh. 9, Gen. 31)
4. DOJ dropping criminal probe of Fed Chair Jerome Powell amid pressure from senators (ABC News)
“The Department of Justice is dropping its criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, ending a standoff that threatened to delay the confirmation of Powell's successor at the central bank, District of Columbia U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said Friday.
“The Fed's independent inspector general conducted an audit of the building renovation costs in 2021 and Powell had already asked the watchdog to take a fresh look at the $2.5 billion project last year… Powell's term ends next month, but he said in March that he would stay in the position until President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Fed, Kevin Warsh, is confirmed.
“Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) said Sunday he was satisfied that the Justice Department ended its criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell, clearing the way for Republicans to advance President Donald Trump’s pick to be the next leader of the central bank, Kevin Warsh.”
Under Pressure? You can sing that again, Queen. A fascinating study, conducted over 3 years, identified 6 principles that influenced individuals and their thinking/behavior: scarcity, authority, social proof, liking, reciprocation, and commitment/consistency.
Scarcity pertains to a limited resource, such as time in this instance. The clock is ticking, so action must be taken. Then there is authority, which concerns experts or those with credentials on a particular matter (e.g. follow the smart money). Relative to social proof, this refers to the herd mentality, where we desire to associate and imitate others. With liking, we are more likely to agree and follow those we are warm to. Regarding reciprocity, we often scratch the backs of those who will scratch ours later. And finally there is commitment/consistency. In an effort not to be duplicative or two-faced, we are often consistent with the principles we value and the commitments we hold.
Be like Solomon, not Rehoboam. Solomon, we are told, sought the counsel of wise, but not so with Rehoboam. He neglected to follow after his father and instead listened to those he grew up with. And in the end, Solomon reigned over a united, mighty kingdom; Rehoboam over a divided one. Adam Grant was right: "Convincing other people to think again isn't just about making a good argument—it's about establishing that we have the right motives in doing so.” (1 Kings 12, Ps. 71:18).
Cultural News
3. It’s Not Doomscrolling—We’re Just ‘Monitoring the Situation’ (WSJ)
“There was a time when this kind of behavior would be called doomscrolling. Now, in the vernacular of our bet-on-anything era, it’s all part of monitoring the situation. People who’ve never worked on a trading floor are moving markets with informed wagers. Some are getting rich.
“Elon Musk regularly posts and responds to memes about monitoring the situation... The memes often depict people buried under computer monitors, or reframing mundane tasks like spying on neighbors and working in an office as monitoring the situation. When major news breaks, viewers joke online about their passive consumption of the news by saying they’re simply monitoring the situation.”
Robert Palmer is Addicted to love, but are you addicted to social media? Research out of Harvard suggests that self-disclosure on social networking apps light up the same part of the brain that also ignites when taking an addictive substance. In the real world, people talk about themselves roughly 30 percent of the time; on social media, that number is 80 percent.
Social media is attention alcohol, according to Derek Thompson. Writing in The Atlantic, Thompson compares alcohol to social media, describing them as a “fun product that millions of people seem to love; that is unwholesome in large doses; that makes a sizable minority feel more anxious, more depressed, and worse about their bodies; and that many people struggle to use in moderation.” He concludes it is a “social lubricant that can be delightful but also depressing, a popular experience that blends short-term euphoria with long-term regret, a product that leads to painful and even addictive behavior among a significant minority.”
Don’t become a zombie. In Jaron Lanier’s book Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now, he writes that addiction turns you into a zombie, and zombies don’t have free will. As those who have been set free, we should be cautious about engaging on social media platforms. They can be enticing but demanding, causing you to subtly exercise your freedom in one moment and gradually lose it in the pursuit of more engagement in the next. Essentially, if social media becomes Simply Irresistible, it’s time to reconsider its place in your life. (Gal. 5:1-2)
News You Can Use
2. Husband Turns Pregnant Wife’s Texts Into A Song…
Watch it here. “You will be in great pain when you have children.” (Gen. 3:16)
1. "There are no maverick molecules in the universe," says Ben Sasse… A 60 Minutes Interview You Don’t Want to Miss
Watch it here. “The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.” (Ps. 103:19)
