#ourCOG Daily Brief [December 15, 2025]

Good evening, and welcome to #ourCOG Daily Brief for December 15, 2025.

In today’s top stories from around the globe, we’re seeing continued complexities. An attack on U.S. forces in Syria is testing both the anti-ISIS mission and warming ties, as Syria grapples with its security forces being vulnerable to infiltration by former rebels with jihadist sympathies, even as President Ahmed al-Sharaa cultivates relations with the U.S. Meanwhile, in Senegal, poverty is driving many young people to embark on perilous journeys across the seas to Europe, with parents and local leaders desperately seeking solutions to convince them to stay. And in Lebanon, a year after a shaky ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, a window of hope remains as the community spirit endures, with people continuing to cross sectarian lines to offer one another food and shelter.

Looking at our latest video updates, you might be interested in “What kinds of people do you attract? #shorts #christian #jesus,” “Turn Up The Fire | Jentezen Franklin,” and “Gold and Silver Explodes! | Perry Stone.”

For our FaithNews segment, we regret to report that no recent faith-based news has been found.

Turning to prophecy news, we have several significant developments. Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya claims a “legitimate right” for the terrorist movement to possess weapons, insisting this right must be upheld in any future Gaza ceasefire proposals. On the diplomatic front, Ukraine’s Zelensky is reportedly offering to drop his country’s NATO bid, with a Trump envoy seeing progress in peace talks. Domestically, the UK Parliament is advancing a Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, a sweeping piece of legislation giving the government unprecedented oversight of homeschooling. In the U.S., a heated debate continues between Elon Musk and California Governor Gavin Newsom over “trans kids” and what Musk calls an “evil woke mind virus.” Florida is also making headlines, suing top medical groups for what it terms the “reprehensible” promotion of child “gender transitions,” accusing them of immoral efforts driven by ideology and financial incentives.

Finally in Jewish history, looking back to December 16th, we note several intriguing moments. In 1316, Öljaitü, the eighth Ilkhanid ruler in Tabriz, Iran, passed away, famously after a Jewish convert to Islam, Rashid-al-Din Hamadani, was found guilty of trying to poison him. Moving to 1431, King Henry VI of England was named King of France, following the death of his grandfather, Charles VI, who was the French monarch responsible for expelling the Jews from France. And in 1485, Catherine of Aragon was born, future wife of Henry VIII and Queen of England. Her inability to produce a male heir ultimately changed the religious landscape of Christian Europe, and for the Jewish view, a condition for her marriage to Henry VIII’s father was that Jews would not be permitted to live in England.