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. Xi warns Trump that US and China will 'clash' if Taiwan is handled 'improperly' (ABC News)
“Chinese President Xi Jinping issued a warning to President Donald Trump during their high-stakes summit in Beijing, saying that if the issue of Taiwan is handled "improperly," the two nations could "come into conflict," according to China's official state broadcaster Xinhua. The trip came at a crucial time for Trump as the war with Iran loomed and was leading to economic consequences for Americans at home. China is Iran's principal oil consumer.
“Particularly thorny for China is the issue of Taiwan and the U.S. position on the matter has long been delicate. However, Xi did say that if the issue is handled "properly," "bilateral relations can remain generally stable." After a dramatic welcoming ceremony, Trump sat down with Xi on the first day of a multi-day summit, during which Trump said he'd seek to deepen diplomatic and economic ties between the world's two largest economic powers.”
"President Trump and China’s leader, Xi Jinping, emphasized stability on Friday as they concluded a high-stakes summit in Beijing, albeit without announcing any clear resolutions on trade, Taiwan, the war in Iran or other major points of contention. Sitting beside Mr. Xi during a meeting at Zhongnanhai, the walled headquarters for China’s ruling Communist Party, Mr. Trump said that the Chinese leader had “become really a friend” and that they felt similarly about the war."
Just because they speak up doesn’t mean they follow through, according to Miles Yu of the Hudson Institute. “The danger lies not in overestimating China’s strength but in misreading its signals. Too often, Washington and its allies treat Beijing’s language as evidence of imminent escalation, responding with caution or hesitation… In reality, the pattern suggests something different. Beijing escalates rhetorically because it is constrained operationally. It raises the temperature in words because it cannot always do so in action. The appropriate response to Beijing’s latest warnings is not alarm, and certainly not concession. It is steadiness.”
While China is a growing threat, they literally aren’t growing… Nicholas Eberstadt highlights how China’s birth level in 2023 was reportedly less than half as high as it had been just 6 years earlier (18.3 million in 2016; 8.9 million in 2023). If China were to maintain its current birth pattern, it would be tallying over 2.3 deaths for every live birth by the year 2050, and that total population would fall by over 150 million between then and now. And by 2050, China’s median age is on track to hit 52 years. No country in history has ever been that gray—yet.
There were 2 empty chairs at this summit… Launched by DBU’s Everett Center for Global Religious Freedom, the “Two Empty Chairs” campaign centered on both Pastor Jin and imprisoned Uyghur economist Ilham Tohti. Pastor Jin was detained during a crackdown on unregistered house churches; Tohti was arrested back in 2014 and sentenced to life in prison for his writing on Uyghur rights and ethnic tensions in China. There are currently more than a million Uyghurs in concentration camps in China. So although there were 2 empty chairs, there isn’t an empty throne. Because of that, China could clash with us, but they will have to face him. (Heb. 4, Gal. 6)
5. Racist streamer ‘Chud the Builder’ charged with attempted murder for shooting outside court (ABC News)
“A livestreamer known for posting controversial videos using racial slurs toward Black people and other minorities is facing multiple charges, including attempted murder, after a shooting in front of a Tennessee courthouse Wednesday, officials said. The shooting happened during a confrontation between Dalton Eatherly, who goes by Chud the Builder online, and another man, who authorities have not identified, outside the Montgomery County Courthouse in Clarksville, the Tennessee District Attorney General’s Office said.
“Both men were shot and taken to nearby hospitals where they were in stable condition as of early Wednesday evening, according to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office. Officials did not provide a description of the victims... Eatherly has made a social media presence by recording and livestreaming his racist confrontations with Black people and others while touting his constitutionally protected right to do so.”
Daniel Freedman observed that the world is sensory rich and casual poor. Essentially, we know a cookie tastes great but we neglect to realize how eating a cookie every day for a month adds 5 pounds to our waistline. In this instance, Chud feasted on engagement with his audience, failing to consider how what is rewarded in the digital world could be detrimental in the real world.
In her book Dopamine Nation, Anna Lembke writes: “We’ve transformed the world from a place of scarcity to a place of overwhelming abundance: Drugs, food, news, gambling, shopping, gaming, texting, sexting, Facebooking, Instagramming, YouTubing, tweeting . . . the increased numbers, variety, and potency of highly rewarding stimuli today is staggering. The smartphone is the modern-day hypodermic needle, delivering digital dopamine 24/7 for a wired generation… The reason we’re all so miserable may be because we’re working so hard to avoid being miserable.”
Like Absalom, Chud feasted at the buffet of self to his detriment… He followed the example of Narcissus, who was lured by Nemesis to a pool where he saw his reflection. Falling in love with himself, Narcissus was unable to tear himself away from the beauty of the reflection, indulging himself and neglecting others. Chud was known for exercising his freedom to the detriment of others, but this morning, Chud has lost some of his freedom because of his behavior toward others. (2 Sam. 15, James 3)
4. South Carolina governor calls for a special session on redistricting (NBC News)
“South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster called a special session Thursday for state lawmakers to tackle redistricting ahead of the midterm elections. A new map is expected to eliminate the state’s only majority-minority district, which is held by Rep. James Clyburn, a key Democratic power broker. “I have issued an Executive Order calling the General Assembly back for an extra legislative session to address the state budget and congressional districts,” McMaster said Thursday evening on X. He said the special session would begin Friday morning.
“McMaster initially chose not to set a special session, but he changed course after the Republican-led state Senate rejected a measure this week to extend its current session to take up a redrawn map, despite pressure from President Donald Trump.”
Snap! has the power, but to what end? A fascinating series of studies sought to identify the appeal of power. They identified 2 particular strains: influence and autonomy. Power as influence is rooted in the idea of having control over others and things. But with power as autonomy, this is less about influencing others and more about being able to shape one’s own destiny.
“Autonomy quenches the desire for additional power—but influence does not,” the researchers concluded. Valuing autonomy over influence coincides with self-determination theory, which suggests autonomy is one of humans’ basic psychological needs. In this instance, elected officials value strengthening their own prospects to stay in office over influencing potential policy outcomes.
Democrats will cry foul with this, also highlighting Texas and Tennessee. Republicans will respond by pointing to Illinois and New York. Each side is choosing its voters, but ultimately God has chosen us to love our neighbors by, among other things, voting our conscience. They are fighting to represent us, and we should be considerate when choosing them. (Phil. 2:5-8, Rom. 12:1-2, Mt. 22:36-39).
Cultural News
3. Nearly half of Americans are lacking fun in their lives: survey (NY Post)
“The fun drought is real, and it’s here — a new study has found that one in two Americans is massively lacking in the amount of fun in their lives. The state-by-state poll of 5,000 U.S. adults found 48% of the nation feels like their overall life is currently lacking in fun. And 12% can’t even remember the last time they had a full free day to have fun, and half wish they could do something fun and social daily, or at least a few times per week. Those who said they don’t get enough fun in their lives just want 17 extra hours per week to change that.
“With what hours they do have reserved for fun, Americans said they like to watch TV (77%), see family or friends (69%), dine out (59%), enjoy outdoor activities (50%), follow personal hobbies (49%), and play games (48%).”
Apparently, not every Girl Just Wants To Have Fun… Unfortunately, one survey found that the average American has 131 boring days a year. They defined a boring day as one that involved no fun at all. America is in a party deficit, according to Ellen Cushing. Only 4.1 percent of Americans attended or hosted a social event on an average weekend or holiday in 2023. This is a 35 percent decrease since 2004.
Perception isn’t aligned with reality… Some even term this a diffusion of responsibility, which refers to how some don’t take action and assume others will act. For example,a fascinating poll found that though 84 percent of Americans enjoy birthday parties, only 59 percent attended one in the previous year. And another poll found that only 28 percent would throw an actual party.
God commands us to have fun and rejoice, knowing his commands aren’t a buzzkill but a joy-producer. Frederick Buechner put it well: “We tend to think that joy is not only not properly religious but that it is even the opposite of religion. We tend to think that religion is sitting stiff and antiseptic and a little bored and that joy is laughter and freedom and reaching out our arms to embrace the whole wide and preposterous earth which is so beautiful that sometimes it nearly breaks our hearts. We need to be reminded that at its heart Christianity is joy and that laughter and freedom and the reaching out of arms are the essence of it.” (Ecc. 5:18-20, 1 Thess. 5:21-22, Eph. 5:8-11, 1 John 5:2-4, Phil. 4:4)
News You Can Use
2. Ring doorbell video shows a police officer rushing into a burning apartment to save a mother and her two children.
Watch it here. “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Phil. 2:4)
1. In a job interview, he was asked what is his biggest weakness… You’ll never guess his response.
Watch it here. “...For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor. 12:10)
